


Building a Castle With One Hand

by slashhearts



Series: The Things I Want To Tell You —届ける、届けたい。— [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternative Universe - Idols, M/M, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26371531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slashhearts/pseuds/slashhearts
Summary: Daisuke and Yuuma do their first full-length radio interview. Yuuma reveals some details about his past.
Relationships: Daisuke Tadano/Shishino Yuuma
Series: The Things I Want To Tell You —届ける、届けたい。— [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1245020





	1. Chapter 1

###  AM 11:00, Taxi, Shibuya

“Okay! So!” Producer cleared their throat. “A full-length radio interview! Not like that quick corner segment from last month, but full-length!! And a guest DJ session!!” 

The taxi was cruising at a comfortable pace as a few clouds linged from yesterday’s storm. Producer sat in the passenger seat, fists balled with excitement. It was a rather drastic change from their usual demeanor. Their phone was pocketed and away for once. Instead, they channeled all of their focus and energy into their interview. 

“This is so exciting!” Producer continued. “If it goes well, they’ll actually publish the interview part in a major magazine!”

“When it rains, it pours,” Yuuma muttered, half-listening. 

Daisuke looked out the window and up at the sky. His heart soared while his mind raced with possible questions. “What kind of questions do you think they’ll ask?”

“Probably the standard stuff,” Yuuma said, choosing to tune in. “Besides, we’re ready. Between those role-play sessions and those idol magazines Tantou had us read, should be easy.”

Producer perked up at their mention and turned around to face the two in the back seat. “Right, we prepared as much as we could, but—”

“Don’t sound overprepared, act natural, and be yourself,” the two chanted in return. 

“You’ve only said it like three times a day for the past week, Tantou,” Yuuma rolled his eyes. His usual sarcasm felt a little heavier today, Daisuke noticed. “Just relax, we’ll be fine.”

“Besides, it’s really natural if you’re acting it?” Daisuke raised a playful eyebrow. 

“Okay, okay!” Producer chuckled. They turned back to face forward but kept an eye on them through the rearview mirror. “I’m counting on you two.”

“Right…”

Yuuma felt Daisuke’s eyes on him, but at this point he was used to it. Even with Daisuke’s affinity for people watching, his slightly worried expression made him suspicious. He adjusted his posture and turned further away ever so slightly. 

Daisuke took no offense. He was starting to get pretty good reads on his partner, which quiet moods meant he was okay and which ones meant he wanted to be left alone. He noticed Yuuma’s posture slumped slightly as he leaned on his arm along the door. On first glance, it looked like he was simply looking out the window but Daisuke could tell something was off than the usual mental retreat. His gaze was distant and he seemed agitated, more than usual. Something was off. 

“How was your weekend, Shishino-san?”

“...”

“Shishino-san?”

“Huh? Oh,” Yuuma blinked. “My weekend. It was fine.”

“Do anything fun?”

“Not... really? I mean, we’ve been working so hard, I figured I’d take the time to relax and just do nothing,” Yuuma shrugged. He kept his tone conversational enough for Daisuke.

“Man, doing nothing sounds nice!” Daisuke feigned a laugh. “My sisters were a handful like usual, so I barely got any time off myself. Plus midterms are coming up...”

“Your parents working overtime again?” Yuuma asked. Daisuke couldn’t tell if it was out of genuine concern or tepid politeness. 

“Yeah, it’s a really busy time for them so they’re getting as many hours as they can…”

“So you’ve been on double babysitting duty,” Yuuma frowned. “You look like you could use a break. You getting enough sleep?” 

Daisuke blinked. That one sounded genuine. “Y-Yeah, enough, I think.”

“School going okay?”

“It’s just gen-ed classes for right now, nothing too hard,” Daisuke half-lied. He was sure Yuuma could see the faint circles developing under his eyes, evidence of one too many all-nighters. He figured he could deflect with a slight confession, “To be honest, I’m still working on my time management skills. It’s so different from high school. But I got it covered, don’t worry about me!!”

“Yeah…” Yuuma trailed off. The car fell back into the quiet ambience of rumbling through traffic. 

_ “Damn it, he deflected off onto me and my problems again,”  _ Daisuke thought. He was undeterred, he’d gone through this pattern enough times to know he could just keep trying to push through.  _ “I really should stop using my problems as a way in. I should also get my act together…” _

They were nearing the end of the drive but Daisuke couldn’t help but feel all the things he wanted to say well up in his chest. He couldn’t just leave it like this. 

“You, uh,” Daisuke stammered. “Did you play any games this weekend?”

“I did,” Yuuma continued his pattern of vague cordiality. He paused for a second, debating on whether or not to divulge further. “...I actually caught up with some of my old teammates actually.”

“Really?? How’d that go?” Daisuke tried to keep his excitement low. He had mentioned something about teammates before, but this might’ve been the first time that he referred to this mystery group as  _ his _ teammates. “It’s been a while since you’ve talked to them, right?”

“I actually haven’t talked to them since we disbanded,” Yuuma opened up a little more. Now they were getting somewhere. 

“I see…” Daisuke said.  _ “Disbanded? Should I try to press it further?” _

“Yeah,” Yuuma sighed. “They’re doing… good. Which is good. Good for them.”

“Okay,” Daisuke could tell he was reaching a danger point. He nodded and turned back to the window. If Yuuma wanted to keep the conversation going, that’ll be on him. 

“A couple of them actually heard us on the radio that first time, a few weeks back,” Yuuma hesitated. “I wasn’t sure what to make of it.”

“Were they happy for you?” Daisuke held his breath. He never really talked about what he used to do, other than the fact that it had something to do with playing video games. Even less information still, Yuuma was usually reluctant to talk about “his teammates.” Daisuke always figured it was some kind of sore point of contention if he never brought it up. 

“I think? Some of them were, the ones I caught up with. As in, I didn’t catch up with everyone because not everyone was there. I… ugh.”

“You okay?” Daisuke noticed the slight tremor in Yuuma’s voice. It wasn’t like him to babble and overexplain. “Are you nervous?”

“About the interview? No.”

“I meant about your... teammates knowing about your Idol work.”

“Oh right. Not… really? Kind of? I don’t know.”

Yuuma was usually so sure of himself. Seeing him like this was strange. It felt like reality had shifted and they had entered an alternate universe. Daisuke made up his mind. 

“Well, that’s good then! The more fans we have the better,” Daisuke crossed his arms, imitating a few of Yuuma’s own affectations. “It’s like you always say, right? ‘If we’re serious about making it to Top Idol, then every fan counts.’”

Yuuma raised an eyebrow, his lips drawn tight into a frown. 

“Is that… supposed to be me?”

“Wha— this? Well, uh, kinda?” Daisuke faltered.  _ “Crap, he’s going to think I’m making fun of him!! He’s going to hate me!!” _

“Funny,” came his response. His expression softened, but he didn’t laugh or smile in the slightest either. “Man, I sound dumb.”

“N-Not at all!! You sound perfectly fine! I-I mean, not like ‘damn, you’re  _ fiiiiine,’ _ but like you sound good! Good, like normal!” Daisuke waved his hands to supplement his blathering response of an apology.  _ “Craaaaaaaaap!” _

“Pfffft,” Yuuma held back a laugh. “I thought  _ I  _ was all wound up about this interview.”

“Huh?”

“We’re here!”

Producer’s announcement allowed for a brief pause. The taxi rolled up to the curb of a skyscraper, but they could see the radio recording booth through a ground-level window. Their host was seated inside already, gathering some papers, when she looked up and waved with an enthusiastic smile. 

“Ah, there’s Miyako!” Producer waved back as they got out of the car. Daisuke and Yuuma followed suit, making sure to thank the driver as they closed the door behind them. The three passed through the open air lobby and turned down a couple of hallways. 

“I’m just going to check in with the show producers. The recording booth should be down the hall to your left. In case I don’t see you guys again before the show starts,” Producer glanced back behind their shoulder. “You guys are gonna do great. Have fun out there!” 

The two nodded, determined. 

“Right!”

With that, Producer ducked into an office and closed the door behind them. Yuuma looked at Daisuke.

“We should get going.”

“Right…” 

Daisuke trailed behind by a few steps as Yuuma led the way. Daisuke cleared his throat.

“Hey, Shishino-san.”

“What’s that?” 

Yuuma continued onward. Daisuke followed.

“Earlier, in the car… Were you making fun of me?”

“What?”

Yuuma stopped and turned around.

“What do you mean?’

“I mean, you started laughing at me before we got here.”

“I… was?”

“Okay, yeah, so I got nervous and started ranting, but,” Daisuke hands balled into fists. His heart was pounding on his rib cage, threatening to leap out of his throat. His eyes blazed into a glare he couldn’t help. “But you seemed down and I was only trying to help you feel better.”

“Hey, that’s not—”

“I mean, yeah, I get nervous when I’m with you sometimes because you’re kind of intimidating and scary, but I know that’s not who you are, but when I try to get to know you better, you just shut down and I feel stupid and—”

“Hey,” Yuuma reached out to grab Daisuke by the shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” 

Yuuma felt his own chest tighten. He averted Daisuke’s eyes and stared at the ground.

“You’re right. I was in a bad mood earlier. And talking about it with you really helped.”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to make fun of me and laugh at me!”

“Yeah, it doesn’t,” Yuuma’s voice strained. Daisuke softened. “It’s just… hard for me to… deal. With some of my stuff.”

“...”

Daisuke’s chest rose and fell with each deep breath he took. 

“I’m still learning to process it myself. I’m sorry if I come across as scary or intimidating,” Yuuma apologized. “I don’t mean to be.”

“You don’t have to process it yourself,” Daisuke tried to reach out. “You have me. You can talk to me, about anything.”

“...No.”

Yuuma stepped back. He shook his head. 

“Yes, we’re a unit, a team. But only when it comes to our Idol work… When we deal with  _ our  _ problems, I know I can rely on you,” Yuuma said. “But when it comes to  _ my  _ problems, from my own past… I can’t trust anyone else with that.”

“Why not?” Daisuke asked without hesitation. 

“‘Why not?’” Yuuma repeated. “Because. Because I can’t…”

“You can’t what?” Daisuke pressed further. “I thought this was supposed to be a full partnership, that’s what you told me. What can’t you trust me with? Why can’t you trust me?”

“I can’t talk about this anymore.”

Yuuma turned back around and strode down the hall. 

“Hey, wait!” Daisuke chased after him.  _ “What the hell?! This is ridiculous, he’s being ridiculous. Why can’t he just tell me what it is?” _

“Just leave it alone, Tadano.”

“We’re supposed to be all about communication and being honest, that’s literally what our unit is based on,” Daisuke was starting to get frustrated. “What good is that if we can’t even do that ourselves!?”

Yuuma stopped at the recording booth’s door. 

“We’re about to head in,” Yuuma muttered. “Now’s not the time to talk about this.”

“Shishino-san!”

“Later,” he insisted. 

“...Fine,” Daisuke resigned. “But we better have a proper conversation about this.”  __

Yuuma merely looked at him. Daisuke couldn’t read his expression clearly.  _ “I guess I don’t know him as well as I thought.” _

Daisuke reached for the knob and led the way through. 

* * *

###  PM 1:15, Tewa Records, Studio de CAP!

The first couple of songs played through smoothly enough. It helped that Miyako liked to start her show with a few songs to warm herself up. She was a professional, no doubt, offering tidbits and radio tips while still keeping the atmosphere casual. Even with a small crowd of people gathered around the window outside, she felt as if she was inviting them home into her living room. Daisuke was grateful for the change from the moody mess that was earlier. It looked like Yuuma was easing up himself as well, actually holding a pleasant conversation for once. Producer was in the engineer booth, trying their hardest to be as casual as possible. Their rigid posture and stern frown in the eyes behind the forced smile gave them away. 

_ “When they told us to be ourselves, I guess Producer really took that to heart,”  _ Daisuke smiled to himself.

As the current song completed its final chorus and began its transition into the outro, Miyako started wrapping up the small talk. 

“We’re nearing the end here,” she explained. “Just to recap, we’ll go ahead and do the interview portion now, ask you about being an Idol, your new material… nothing too serious! Keep it conversational and we’ll be golden!”

“Got it!” Daisuke nodded. 

He peeked a glance at Yuuma who glanced at him back. They nodded at each other and Daisuke took a breath. The last few bars of the song began to fade. The “On Air” box lit up above Miyako’s head. In the booth, the engineer counted down and pointed at her.

“Welcome back to the Palace Hall,” Miyako began her introduction. She had the sultry smooth tones of a seasoned radio host. “If you’re just joining us today, I’m joined by Daisuke Tadano and Yuuma Shishino aka ᴀɴᴛᴇɴɴ∀, the newest Idol group to make their breakout debut.”

“Thank you for having us!” Daisuke leaned into the mic, grinning wide. 

“Yeah, thank you,” Yuuma followed. 

“So you two,” Miyako flashed them a warm smile. “Congratulations to the both of you on your big break! You two must be so excited.”

“We are,” Yuuma nodded. “It’s been a fun ride so far.”

“How are you guys finding your new popularity?” Miyako asked. 

“I’m still trying to get used to it myself,” Daisuke confessed sheepishly. “I’ve been getting recognized around campus more and more, but everyone’s been so nice and supportive!”

“I bet that’s been exciting! What do your classmates think?”

“If anything, I think they’re excited to know a minor celebrity? Haha, they keep telling me how they saw me on a show or maybe they heard us on the radio. They’re happy for me!”

“Is it hard, balancing your studies and your Idol work?”

“A-Ah, I’m handling it just fine!” Daisuke offered unconvincingly. His flimsy handwave would cast further doubt if it weren’t for the audio-only format. “I was telling Shishino-san earlier, I’m only still doing my general ed classes, so it’s nothing too challenging yet.”

“Mm, your studies are important though, don’t forget about them!” Miyako huffed with the sense of a concerned mother for a brief second before switching gears. “What about you, Shishino-san?” 

“Mm, a few kids come up to me at the arcade and ask if I’m ‘that guy from the TV.’ It’s actually really kind of cute…” Yuuma shrugged. His quiet demeanor faded as he let himself get more and more excited. It was like he allowed something to spark within him and it shined behind his tinted glasses. “But if anything, it makes me more excited for our next move!” 

“Thinking about what’s to come already? Don’t forget to enjoy the moment at least!” Miyako laughed. 

“R-Right…”

_ “Ah, his chest is puffing up…”  _ Daisuke thought. He glanced at Producer who noticed it too and was starting to fret. After working with the guy for a few weeks, even if he was reluctant to share more than his name, Daisuke felt confident in knowing  _ something  _ about his partner.  _ “I need to say something.” _

“A-Ah, well!” he cut in. “Can you blame him? We seem to be doing a good thing and we wanna keep it going!” 

“Can’t argue with that!!” Miyako lifted a finger in agreement. A slight wave of relief washed over Yuuma’s face. Daisuke winked at him as Miyako continued. 

“So your new single just released last week! I actually have it right… here!” Miyako reached under her desk to pull something out. “Man, I wish you could see the cover art, it’s so cool! Back-to-back, facing away from each other in a… where did you guys take this pic?” 

“Ueno Park!” Daisuke answered, grateful for the change in subject. “Funny story, as soon as we finished with the photoshoot here, we actually fell into one of the ponds!”

“What?! How’d that happen?” Miyako was on the edge of her seat. If she noticed any discomfort, she was playing it off well.

“ _ Somebody _ was chasing after a dog…” Yuuma rolled his eyes to Daisuke. 

“What? He was  _ begging  _ to be pet! You could see it on his cute little face!!” Daisuke defended himself, holding his hands up. “I wasn’t about to let him go un-pet!”

“Right, so I’m trying to keep my footing so of course, I grab onto the nearest thing—”

“Which was me…”

“And, bam!” Yuuma gave a little oomph with a rightly-timed clap. “Both of us, straight into the pond. Family of ducks got really mad when we tried to break our fall on them…”

“No kidding! I would be too!” Miyako screamed in feigned outrage. The laughs of the crowd outside could barely be heard muffled through the glass. 

“I’m just glad we weren’t wearing our stage outfits!” Daisuke laughed. 

“Apparently, nothing stops Tadano from petting a dog,” Yuuma chuckled. “You know, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure some footage of it actually made it into the limited edition DVD of the single.”

“Yeah, so if you wanna hear what Shishino-san sounds like when he gets pushed into a pond, make sure to pick it up!!” Daisuke couldn’t help but shout. 

“It’s definitely worth checking out!! I know I’ve watched it like ten times myself,” Miyako agreed. “Now, the A-side title track is called ‘Reach OUT!,’ and you guys also included a softer, more downtempo B-side, ‘Signal Lost.’ Can you talk a little bit about that?”

“Right, well,” Daisuke cleared his throat. “Our whole thing, the two of us making up ᴀɴᴛᴇɴɴ∀, is that we’re all about helping you say what you need to say. Y’know, making connections with others. People don’t know us just yet since we’ve just only released our first single, but with our A-side, we want to hit the ground running with a strong message.” 

“A lot of people have trouble revealing their honest and true selves. For one reason or another, they decide to keep to themselves the things they need to let people know about,” Yuuma explained. His throat dried as he took his time to speak. 

“We want people to know they can depend on us,” Daisuke picked up off where his partner left off. He watched Yuuma take a sip of his water. “If they can’t say what they want to say, for however long, they can rely on us.”

“Of course, we’re never always ready to go into that deep stuff ourselves,” Yuuma added, having recovered some with his quick water break. “That’s why I think our B-side is just as important as well. We want you to know that we’re not only here for you, but that we’ll be ready when you’re ready.”

“‘Ready when you’re ready,’” Miyako repeated. She drew out the words as she processed them. “Does this mean that you guys are ready to say what  _ you  _ need to say?”

“Well—“

“Uh—“

Daisuke and Yuuma looked at each other. Daisuke gulped.  _ “Of all the questions to ask today, this had to be one of them?!” _

“To be honest,” Yuuma spoke up first, turning to Miyako. “I’m not.”

“Really?” she raised an eyebrow. 

“The thing about Daisuke is that he’s extremely honest about who he is. He’s straightforward and more often than not, he’ll tell you how it is straight to your face.”

“Hey—“ Daisuke tried to interrupt. 

“No, no! These are all good things,” Yuuma glanced at his partner, eyes sheepish. “I’m not like that at all, I’m more used to keeping things to myself and dealing with things alone… I’m not good at it yet, but I’m working on it.”

“Shishino-san…” Daisuke couldn’t believe it. 

“Wow, such refreshing honesty!” Miyako whooped. “For someone who doesn’t consider himself so forthcoming, that was a really introspective observation!”

“Was it now?” Yuuma shrugged. “Like I said, still working on it. I’m still bad at explaining other things about me.”

“So even though you guys are all about ‘connecting,’ would you guys say you don’t connect as well as you’d like to?” 

“I…” Yuuma trailed off. He was grateful for the audio format; his face was growing red by the minute. “Uh.”

“Like he said, Shishino-san’s working on stuff, and I’m working on stuff myself,” Daisuke cut in. For a “conversational” interview, it was starting to get too deep for the both of them. He flashed a smile at Yuuma.  _ “I got you!” _

“What do you mean about that?” Miyako pivoted to him. It was like she had him in her sights now.

“I-I mean, I still don’t know what Shishino-san used to do before being an Idol. He hasn’t told me that, among other details about his life,” Daisuke pointed out, watching Yuuma’s reactions. “But I mean, a big part of connecting is not just speaking, but listening. I tell Shishino-san so much about my own life and sometimes I think he isn’t paying attention, but later he’ll mention my sisters or something and he catches me off guard! I think he could write a biography on me if he wanted!”

He let himself have a quick laugh to gauge the room and the crowd outside. They seemed to be receptive enough to him. Yuuma relaxed in his seat a little, a faint smile on his lips as he watched Daisuke. He continued on.

“But with that, my thing is that I’m probably speaking  _ too  _ much,” Daisuke slowed down. “I have to listen to Shishino-san when he’s ready to tell me about himself. And I’m pretty sure he  _ has  _ told me about himself and I just keep asking him the same questions. Wouldn’t you say, Shishino-san?”

“I tell you I’m listening all the time, you don’t believe me,” Yuuma laughed. It felt like a while since Daisuke had seen it, but it was such a sight for sore eyes. He shrugged. “You ask me a lot of questions, but I think I could be a little more… forthcoming. Since we’re partners and all.” 

“Awww, you two are so sweet!” Miyako gushed. “I think I’m safe to say that I’m not the only one here who’s excited to see how far you guys get! I know I’ll rooting for you, for sure!!”

“O-Oh, thank you!” It was Daisuke’s turn to get embarrassed now. “That really means a lot!”

“Yeah, we really appreciate it, thank you,” Yuuma gave a small bow, his smile growing just a little bit wider.

“So what did you used to do before being an Idol then, Shishino-san?” Miyako asked. 

“...Video games.”

Yuuma held a fixed smile somewhere between trying to hide a secret from a parent and trying not to look constipated. Miyako blinked while everyone else just stared. Five seconds passed.

“W-Well, okay then,” Miyako took the opportunity to transition them out of the awkward silence.

“Yeah,” Yuuma said, as if that added anything.

“Ooh, we still have a few songs to play, including…” With a flourish of a finger, Miyako cued a drumroll, recovering gracefully once again. “An ᴀɴᴛᴇɴɴ∀ song!”

“Yes!!”

“I was wondering actually,” Miyako held a mischievous smile. “Would you two be willing to perform it live for us, right now?”

“Wha, really?” Daisuke froze. He had the song down, at least enough to actually record the single, but he still felt a little hesitant about how solid he felt in his performance. “I don’t know…”

“I think we can do it,” Yuuma adjusted his headphones. It was his turn to wink at Daisuke. “I’m confident. I believe in us.” 

“Okay then,” Daisuke shook off the nerves and focused all of his energy into Yuuma. “Let’s do it!”

“Perfect!!” Miyako cheered. She leaned back into the mic. “If you’re just joining us now, we have ᴀɴᴛᴇɴɴ∀ performing their A-side ‘Reach OUT!’ live off their newest single, on sale now!”

The familiar intro began to play in their headphones as they counted down the bars. Daisuke shook his hands and took a few breaths. He only just realized how hard his heart had been pounding throughout the whole interview. They gave each other a quick nod and a smile. 

_ “We got this.” _


	2. Chapter 2

###  PM 4:00, Tewa Records, Break Room

“Phew, we made it!”

Daisuke sighed a breath of relief as he slumped himself over the tiny break room table. Their A-side performance had extended into their B-side and their agency theme song as well before Miyako had ended the session with a rapid-fire Q&A about their hopes and dreams for the future. All in all, the session lasted for a total of two and a half exhilarating, yet exhausting hours. 

“I thought it went well enough,” Yuuma sipped his coffee gingerly. He tried to let his throat rest, but he needed the caffeine more. It had been awhile since he had talked and performed for that long. The warmth also helped. “Did not expect it to last this long though.”

“It makes sense since they’re publishing this in print too,” Producer pointed out. “But I’m real proud of you guys. You killed it out there.” 

“Thanks, Producer,” Daisuke remained face-down, his voice muffled against the plastic of the table. He turned to peek at Yuuma. “Couldn’t have done it without Shishino-san though.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” Yuuma scoffed. He tried to keep his well-meaning annoyance to a minimum. “You sounded amazing out there. Singing, and chatting during the interview. You’re a natural.”

“You sounded good too!” Daisuke tried to protest. 

“I’ve never been one for interviews of any kind,” Yuuma pointed out. Daisuke raised an eyebrow and made no attempt to conceal the glimmer in his eye. 

“...Because of your video game stuff?” 

“Yes, because of my video game stuff,” Yuuma rolled his eyes. With a pause and another sip, he lowered his voice. “Okay, fine I’ll tell you. Just… don’t judge me or anything.”

“Why would I judge you?”

“Because it’s really… nerdy.” 

“Nerdy is… good,” Daisuke hesitated. His impatience was beginning to get the better of him though. “What is it?”

“I… used to be a professional gamer.”

“What?!” 

Daisuke bolted straight up and leaned into Yuuma. 

“A pro-gamer!? That’s so cool! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”

“Because it’s not that interesting? And actually, now that I say it, it was super nerdy,” Yuuma leaned back in his seat as best he could, trying to keep Daisuke from crashing into him. “Also, you’re really close.”

Daisuke crashed back into his seat and rose to his feet. There was no stopping him now.

“I mean, sure it’s nerdy, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be cool too!” 

“Yeah, okay, I thought I wouldn’t want to tell you because I thought you’d find it lame, but if I knew this was how you’d react, I definitely wouldn’t have told you.”

“Hey, wait, where are you going?!”

Daisuke grabbed onto Yuuma’s shoulders as he tried to get up. Yuuma could just feel Daisuke’s excitement tingling through his palms and his clothes flowing into him. He leaned over to look at Producer.

“We’re just about done here, right?”

Producer nodded. “I’m just gonna check in with Miyako’s producers for any last notes, but you two have the rest of the day off. Get a head start on your weekend.”

“Yeah, so, I’m going home then,” Yuuma continued on his quest toward the door with a struggling Daisuke in tow. 

“You want me to call a taxi?” 

“Nah, I’m just gonna walk. Thanks though.”

“Wait, I want to talk about this!” Daisuke grunted, trying to wrap his arms around Yuuma in a failing effort to slow him down.

“Thanks for today,” Yuuma waved. 

“Good job today,” Producer called out after them. They were unfazed to their antics at this point. “Oh, and Shishino?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re right,” Producer flashed an impish smirk. “That was really lame. 

“Shut up!” Yuuma huffed and started walking faster. 

“Ah, Shishino-san, wait, I’m falling off!” 

“Too bad! Stand up straight yourself!” 

“Hey, come to the arcade with me,” Daisuke proposed. They had made their way into the hall now and Daisuke had more or less climbed off of his older partner. His arm lingered around his shoulder, but neither of them seemed to notice or mind. 

“Why,” Yuuma asked without an ounce of curiosity. “Because you want someone to show you how to win at them since you’ve never played them before?” 

“See, you do listen!” His response only bolstered Daisuke further. “That’s exactly why!”

“You realize that the game I competed in isn’t at the arcade, right.”

“It isn’t?” 

Yuuma glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.  _ “Jeez, he’s clueless. But endearing. I’ll give him that.”  _ Daisuke continued on anyway.

“That doesn’t mean you haven’t played like every game at the arcade.”

“...So?” Yuuma hesitated. He had hit the nail on the head with that assumption at least. After turning the last corner, they had reached the lobby where they were met with a few excited squeals. Some fans had camped out and waited to meet them after their radio session. 

“Hey guys!” Daisuke greeted them all with the same gusto and energy he had from the beginning of the day. Where he kept that extra reserve of energy, Yuuma had no idea. 

“Thank you for waiting for us,” Yuuma raised a hand for a slight wave. 

Several minutes, some autographs and selfies, and a couple of crying fans later, the fans were courteous enough to let them go for the night. The two of them gave them one last wave goodbye as they stepped through the doors and into the late afternoon. The city was painted in by the setting sun. Students and salarymen made their way home, everyone bustling with somewhere to be. Yuuma set off in one direction, Daisuke catching up to walk alongside him. Without even thinking about it, Daisuke stretched out his arm and went to wrap it around Yuuma’s shoulders again before catching himself. 

_ “Wait, what am I doing,” _ Daisuke shook his head. He hoped Yuuma wouldn’t notice the slight blush that was starting to develop. He cleared his throat. “So where to?”

“I said I was going home,” Yuuma reiterated. “Whatever you want to do is up to you.”

“Aw, don’t be like that!” Daisuke whined playfully. “We’re finally getting somewhere! Developing our rapport! Connecting! Let’s keep it going!! Besides, what plans do you even have tonight?”

“I…” Yuuma started, trailing off. 

“Nothing, right?” Daisuke confirmed. 

“What about your sisters? Don’t you have to go home and take care of them tonight?” 

“On the rare occasion, my dad actually had the day off,” Daisuke grinned. “He picked them up earlier and they were probably listening to the broadcast earlier. I just texted him to let him know I was going to hang out after work today.”

“And your homework?”

“I have the weekend for that,  _ dad _ ,” Daisuke threw himself onto Yuuma again, sarcasm dripping off that last word. “C’mon!! You always invite me out so we can work on work things, but this is a work thing too!”

“As great as that sounds, how does playing video games count as a work thing?”

“Working on our relationship is a work thing too!” Daisuke huffed. He stood back up again despite Yuuma’s warmth. He tried not to linger on it. “As our leader, I’ve decided.”

“Oh, our  _ relationship _ now, is it,” Yuuma raised an eyebrow. 

_ “Crap!”  _ Daisuke paused, his face growing red again. Yuuma stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to smugly stare right at him. Daisuke was undeterred and returned the sentiment. “Yes. Our  _ relationship _ .” 

“...Alright, fine,” Yuuma conceded. He took off and made a sharp right turn. “I’ll teach you how to play Dekken or something.”

As he turned away, Daisuke could’ve sworn he caught the slightest glimpse of a tiny smile on Yuuma’s lips. Maybe he was fooling himself, maybe Yuuma was only humoring him, maybe he was crazy. If he was, he didn’t care. He watched his partner march on towards the setting sun, his barely visible figure of a silhouette casting a long shadow. He turned around, surrounded in the warm golden glow.

“Dude, you coming?” 

Daisuke took in the scene one last time. He let Yuuma’s words ring out into the air between them for a few seconds, until he was able to keep this memory for himself. He couldn’t see all of his face, but it turned out he wasn’t crazy at all. Daisuke returned the sentiment. 

“Yeah!! Let’s go!” 


End file.
